It is however a subject I can contribute a little knowledge to - my brother manages the recycling centres operated by the local council. Often the centres are not run by council employees but are contracted out to other organisations. The terms of the deal are that the sub-contract company, in addition to disposing of recyclable waste, are entitled to send to auction any items that still have value. Therefore taking anything from the recycling centre that could be auctioned does count as theft from the sub-contract company. If you take it to it's (extreme) logical conclusion and more and more stuff is taken from the recycle centres, the sub-contract company won't make as much money, they'll increase the bids next time the contracts are offered by the councils, and your council tax will go up as a result.